Howard Dean Runs Again. But for What? Stay Tuned.

By ADAM NAGOURNEY

Published: December 9, 2004

Howard Dean began a campaign for his political future here on Wednesday with the unrepentant appeal that he used in his short-lived burst of a presidential campaign: warning that it would be a mistake for Democrats to embrace Republican ideals in their struggle back to power.

''Over 50 years ago, Harry Truman said, 'We are not going to get anywhere by trimming or appeasing, and we don't need to try it,''' Dr. Dean told students at George Washington University. ''Yet here we are making the same mistakes. Let me tell you something: there's only one thing Republican power brokers want more than for us to lurch to the left -- and that's for us to lurch to the right.''

What precisely Dr. Dean is running for is not entirely certain during this period of transformation for the Democratic Party and its better-known leaders. An aide to Dr. Dean said the choice was between running for the chairmanship of the party, or making another bid for the presidency in 2008.

Dr. Dean has told Democratic leaders that he is interested in becoming the next chairman of the Democratic Party, replacing Terry McAuliffe, whose term is about to expire.

Dr. Dean is one of a number of potential candidates appearing before a meeting of state Democratic leaders at Walt Disney World in Florida this weekend. The Democratic National Committee will make its selection at a meeting in Washington in February.

Dr. Dean, looking tanned and cheery, said flatly that he would not seek the presidency in 2008 if he was elected party leader, addressing a concern many Democratic leaders have voiced to him as he has made the rounds these past few weeks. An aide said he needed to determine his presidential ambitions before deciding whether to join the race officially.

The depth of Dr. Dean's fame and popularity was on display as he appeared before a familiar audience on Wednesday -- rapturous students who gave him two standing ovations, and surrounded him for autographs and pictures.

But the prospect of Dr. Dean's emerging as the face of his party is one that even his own advisers acknowledge has not exactly thrilled many members of the party, who remember the implosion of his campaign, his tireless advocacy of his party's left wing and his opposition to the Iraq war.

''He's got tremendous skills, and if he became chairman, he'd do a good job,'' said Bob Kerrey, a former Nebraska senator who is supporting the candidacy of Leo J. Hindery Jr., the telecommunications executive.

''But if he runs, he's going to have some 'splaining' to do, as Ricky Ricardo used to say,'' Mr. Kerrey continued. ''People remember him saying, 'I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party' -- which means the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.''

''Which Howard Dean are we talking about?'' Mr. Kerrey said. ''If we're talking about the Howard Dean who was governor of Vermont, I would say fine. But if it's presidential candidate Dean, I would say probably no. The committee has got to figure out how to keep people like me in it. If he's firing people up and he's saying we've got to swing to the left -- it's harder to swing along with him. And hell, I live in New York City. I don't live in Nebraska anymore.''

If Dr. Dean's first major speech after Senator John Kerry's loss to President Bush was any indication, the Dr. Dean in question is presidential candidate Dean. Much of his language was reminiscent of his campaign -- ''we're going to take this country back for the people who built it,'' he declared -- and his central theme was the same one that helped him rocket to the front of the field, if briefly, earlier this year.

''Here in Washington, it seems that after every losing election, there's a consensus reached among decision makers in the Democratic Party that the way to win is to be more like Republicans,'' Dr. Dean said, adding: ''If we accept that philosophy this time around, another Democrat will be standing here in four years giving this same speech. We cannot win by being Republican-lite.''

Initial reaction from Dr. Dean's potential competitors suggested no one was looking for a fight, at least for now, as party leaders soberly assessed what many said was the mismatch between the two parties.

''Everybody knows that they are doing better than we are,'' said Simon Rosenberg, president of the moderate New Democratic Network, and one of the likely candidates for the job. ''We know that they are a more powerful party than we are right now.'' But, he added, ''I don't think even the most arch conservative in the Democratic Party believes that we should become Republican-lite.''

In addition to Dr. Dean, Mr. Hindery and Mr. Rosenberg, other potential candidates include James J. Blanchard, the former governor of Michigan; Wellington E. Webb, the former mayor of Denver; former Mayor Ron Kirk of Dallas; Representative Martin Frost of Texas; Donnie Fowler, the campaign manager for Gen. Wesley K. Clark's failed presidential bid; and Harold M. Ickes, the longtime party leader.

The size of the field reflects the calculation by many Democrats that the party will recoil at the prospect of naming Dr. Dean, or that Dr. Dean himself will end up not running if he comes to the conclusion that he would suffer another embarrassing defeat.

''Howard's a very strong candidate, and he has a lot of support out there,'' said Art Torres, the California Democratic leader. ''But there are other strong candidates out there as well.''

Photo: Howard Dean, at George Washington University yesterday, addressed concerns about using the party chairmanship as a 2008 springboard. (Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times)